Kiss Me Bad upsets Ladycorona in Preferred Pace
At 12h56, on September 4, 2023 • By Steven Wolf
Ladycorona saw her five-race winning streak come to an end at the Hippodrome 3R Sunday, September 3 as Kiss Me Bad (Badlands Hanover) scored an upset victory in the Preferred-Handicap Pace for fillies and mares.
The 5th race co-feature saw the even money race favorite, Ladycorona and driver Pascal Berube take early command of the race from Celia Bayama (Stephane Brosseau) to the first quarter in :27.3.
Meanwhile, Ashestodiamonds (Robert Shepherd) moved first-over early with 8-1 Kiss Me Bad and driver Steven Gagnon second-over. Berube then backed down Ladycorona at the half mile in just :59 (:31.2 quarter) and seemed to be in control of the pace as the field entered the backstretch.
That was when Gagnon moved three-wide with Kiss Me Bad, but was unable to clear by Ashestodiamonds as Ladycorona led to the three-quarters in 1:28.1. They raced three-wide around the final turn with YS Sensationalcity (Jocelyn Gendron) following the three-wide move of Kiss Me Bad.
Once they started down the stretch, Kiss Me Bad had too much momentum and collared Ladycorona approaching the wire and then held off YS Sensationalcity to win by a long neck in 1:57.1. Ladycorona was third by a half a length.
It was the fourth win of the season for Kiss Me Bad. The seven-year-old mare is owned by Gagnon of Sorel-Tracy and is trained by Daniel Mondou. She paid $18.80 to win.
In the 7th race Preferred-Handicap Pace for the horses it was another upset as Ontario invader, Major Hill (Pascal Berube) was the 7/5 wagering favorite but could not hold off Sports Bettor (Sportswriter) at the finish wire.
After Sports Bettor and driver Pierre-Luc Roy cleared past Shanghaigold (Robert Shepherd) to take the early lead at the first quarter in :28.3, it was the favorite Major Hill and Berube flying to the front to lead the field to the half mile in an easy :58.1.
Then it was D Gs De Vito (Jonathan Lachance) that came first-over with Perpectual Rock (Stephane Brosseau) second-over down the backstretch. D Gs De Vito nearly passed Major Hill as they went to the three-quarters in 1:27.
Around the final turn and D Gs De Vito was still on the outside first-over but could not clear by Major Hill, who was under a hard drive by Berube.
Coming down the stretch, Major Hill started to come back against D Gs De Vito, but it was the pocket-sitting Sports Bettor who had some pace and came on to beat Major Hill by a head in 1:56.1. D Gs De Vito was a close third.
Trained by Kevin Maguire for the Maguire Stable of Sainte-Marie, Quebec, it was the eighth win of the year for Sports Bettor. He paid $11.20 to win. It was the 11-year-old gelding’s 39th career win and he now sports lifetime earnings of $657,577.
It was National Caretaker Appreciation Day at H3R Sunday and every groom in the race paddock received a free lunch along with special prize drawings during the day for the caretakers.
The name of every groom for each horse racing Sunday was mentioned by track announcer Guy Lafontaine during every post parade and handicapper Daniel Delisle interviewed each groom of the winning horse in the winner’s circle.
Track Notes: H3R leading driver Pascal Berube continued to have the hot hands as he scored four winners on the race card Sunday. Leading trainer Marc-Andre Simoneau had a double. Live racing resumes at H3R next Friday, September 8 at 4:00 pm. Then next Sunday, Sept. 10 is Super Sunday with all eight Quebec Championship Finals being held featuring $500,000 in total purses. Three-time O’Brien Award winning driver, Louis-Philippe Roy, will be returning to H3R to drive next Sunday. Post time is 12:00 noon.
